Crime Rate Fluctuates in County : FBI Statistics Show Murders Decrease 35% in Santa Ana

Murders were down in Santa Ana but serious crime edged slightly upward in Fullerton and Huntington Beach, the FBI said Tuesday as it released its crime statistics for the first six months of 1986.

Santa Ana, which experienced more murders than the rest of the county’s major cities combined, pared its murder cases from 20 to 13, a 35% decrease. The crime rate overall fell by 6% in Santa Ana.

But in Fullerton and Huntington Beach, crime increased by 11% and 12% respectively. Fullerton experienced a nearly 41% increase in aggravated assault while Huntington Beach recorded 25% and 29% increases in robbery and aggravated assault.

Orange County’s other major cities--Anaheim, Garden Grove and Orange--held steady with very small increases or decreases in the overall crime rates. There were striking exceptions in some categories, however.

In Anaheim, cases of forcible rape increased from 40 to 62, a 55% difference. In Garden Grove, assault cases also increased 55%. But in Orange, arson cases fell from 122 to 67, a 45% decrease.

The FBI report showed an 8% nationwide increase in crime during the first half of this year. The increase varied by region--13% in the South, 6% in the West, 5% in the Northeast and 4% in the Midwest--but some increase was recorded in all regions, the FBI said. Overall, cities with more than 1 million populations recorded 4% increases while crime in the suburbs increased by 9%.

But individual cities created their own patterns:

Anaheim--Despite a 55% increase in forcible rape and a 21% increase in aggravated assault, the city’s overall crime rate fell by just under 1%, due to offsetting decreases in burglary, larceny/theft and motor vehicle theft.

Fullerton--The overall crime rate rose by 12%, mainly through large increases in aggravated assault (41%) and motor vehicle theft (35%). There were small decreases in forcible rape and arson.

Garden Grove--Aggravated assault increased by 55%, motor vehicle theft by 22% and arson by 45%, but decreases in burglary and larceny/theft gave the city an overall crime rate increase of only about 1%.

Huntington Beach--A 25% increase in robbery and a 29% increase in aggravated assault plus smaller percentage increases in every other category except murder gave the city an 11% overall crime rate increase.

Orange--The crime rate here held almost steady, rising by less than 1% or decreasing by a little more than 1%, depending on the crime index used. There were only slight increases or decreases in all categories except arson, which fell spectacularly from 122 cases to 67, a 45% difference.

Santa Ana--There were slight increases in rape and motor vehicle theft categories and a hefty increase in robbery (23%), but every other category decreased. There were large percentage drops in murder (35%), arson (24%) and burglary (12%), giving the city an overall crime rate decrease of 6%.

ORANGE COUNTY CRIME RATE FBI crime statistics for Orange County cities over 100,000 population. The figures compare crime rates for the first six months of this and last year.

FBI crime City total Murder Rape Robbery Assault Anaheim ’85 8,752 5 40 285 210 ’86 8,685 5 62 320 255 Fullerton 3,364 2 15 86 88 3,768 2 20 77 124 Garden Grove 4,812 5 23 207 187 4,873 6 24 210 291 Huntington Beach 4,330 3 20 79 121 4,830 3 25 99 157 Orange 3,093 0 16 101 132 3,049 1 12 102 147 Santa Ana 11,817 20 34 400 317 11,101 13 39 494 300

Larceny, Vehicle City Burglary Theft Theft Arson Anaheim 2,560 4,752 850 50 2,643 4,500 844 56 Fullerton 788 2,110 253 22 894 2,294 342 15 Garden Grove 1,336 2,614 422 18 1,260 2,527 518 37 Huntington Beach 1,174 2,543 372 18 1,261 2,825 440 20 Orange 767 1,701 254 122 824 1,605 291 67 Santa Ana 2,701 7,139 1,120 86 2,375 6,443 1,372 65

Source: The FBI.